Thursday 6/3: Brent Exhibit Night, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Monday-Tuesday 6/7-8: LSRT Elections (see article)

Thursday 6/10: The Wizard of Oz performance

Monday-Tuesday 6/21-22: Uniform-Free Days

Uniform Swap 8-10 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. (see article)

Exhibit Night This Thursday: Join us for Exhibit Night this Thursday June 3 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. when Brent becomes a museum featuring exhibits from each class. The evening will begin in the multipurpose room with a performance by the Glee Club and poem readings by students in 1^st grade, then families will visit exhibits in the hallways and classrooms throughout the school and talk with student docents about their class projects. Each class created exhibits focusing on their grade’s theme, such as an artist study of the author/illustrator Eric Carle, artist study of Jackson Pollock and Georgia O’Keefe, and exhibits featuring oceans, Aztecs, heroes, D.C. history, Colonial America and the Civil War.

Student Art Sale at Exhibit Night: Exhibit Night will also feature an art sale of student work. The 4^th grade art piece for Brent’s spring Gala (pictured) received so much attention and praise that the entire class is making six more framed portrait collages to sell at Exhibit Night. The portraits will be framed and offered for sale at a set price, and the proceeds will support the art program (and a bit for a celebration for the students’ hard work). Payment can be in the form of checks payable to the Brent PTA or possibly credit cards.

Dr. Wilhoyte Needs YOU!: The LSRT (Local School Restructuring Team) is an advisory board to the principal comprised of teachers, parents and a community representative and is primarily focused on looking forward to the long-term school plan and the budget. Four parents serve on the LSRT, and the only requirement is that you currently have a child enrolled at Brent. We are looking for parents who are interested in serving for the 2010-2011 school year. The LSRT elections will be held on Monday June 7 and Tuesday June 8. We will have tables set up in the morning and immediately after school and during the aftercare pickup. Parents will also be able to vote in the school office during other times those days. Please contact Bessie Thibodeaux-Belcher (besthib@aol.com) if you have any questions or if you would like to run for the LSRT.

Green Team News: Brent was awarded a $2,500 grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for the continued greening on the playground. These funds were earmarked for the permit-ready plans for an amphitheater and garden in the corner of the playground under the big pine trees. We hope to get this installed in the late Fall of 2010, pending another grant. Please enjoy the new green Adirondack chairs in the front side garden, which were funded by the Joe Corbi fundraiser! And please consider helping us water the gardens this summer. It’s lots of fun, your kids can help, and you get to enjoy the compliments of the neighbors as they walk by and watch the gardens flourish. We hope to get enough help that we would only need families for a week or so, about one hour a day or less. Please contact Heidi (Heidi.j.johnson@gmail.com) or Jacqueline (jemanuel@fs.fed.us) to sign up to help this summer. Butterfly News: The Monarchs are back! Exquisite Monarch Butterflies have been spotted in the Butterfly Garden on D St. Keep your eyes open as they feed on the colorful flowers. Can anyone find any caterpillars? Also look for the bees, which are all signs of a healthy and vibrant garden.

Meet With Chancellor Rhee at Jefferson Middle School: Chancellor Rhee has agreed to meet with the Brent community to discuss the current middle school reform as it relates to Brent. Her current draft proposal calls for Brent students to feed into Jefferson Middle School, and she will meet with us at Jefferson (801 7^th St., SW) on Wednesday June 23 from 5-6 p.m. All members of the Brent community are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Also, please review the Chancellor’s draft plan for Ward 6 middle schools and send your thoughts to Chancellor Rhee (michelle.rhee@dc.gov) or contact Ruey Timberg at rtimberg@gmail.com or Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov with comments and suggestions. See the “Building on Momentum: Ward 6 Middle Schools” report at the DCPS Web site for details (go to www.dcps.dc.gov, click on “Parents and Community” then “Community Initiatives”) for the proposal. The next Middle School Working Group meeting will be scheduled during the week of June 7.

2010-2011 PTA Officers Elected: Congratulations to the 2010-2011 PTA officers, who were elected at the meeting last Tuesday:

President – Daniel Holt

Co-President – Adondra Woods

Vice President – Dr. Cheryl Wilhoyte

Vice President – Khadija Amjad

Vice President – Janine Levin

Vice President – Melissa Williams

Corresponding Secretary – Felicia Shaw

Recording Secretary – Angela Stroschein

Treasurer – Adriel Bush

Ex Officio – Denise Diggs

Thanks to outgoing officers Ming-Yuen Meyer-Fong and Lisa Perry for their amazing year of service. Their dedication and hard work is sincerely appreciated. Lisa is moving on to help with the Spring Gala and Ming-Yuen is going to reintroduce himself to his wife and family!

Year-End Uniform Swap: Save money on uniform expenses and help other Brent families. We’ll be holding a uniform swap on Monday June 21 and Tuesday June 22 from 8-10 a.m. and from 3-5 p.m. Bring in your clean, gently used uniforms between 8-10 a.m. on June 21 and you’ll receive a coupon for each item donated (minus one, which is considered a donation to the Brent parent clothes closet) that you can exchange for uniforms donated by other Brent families in the size you expect your child to wear in the fall. June 21 and 22 will be no-uniform days to allow for our swap! Additional reminder: We ALWAYS accept uniform donations, even outside the swap. You can just drop off gently used uniforms at the front office, any time, any day. Uniform swap volunteers needed to help sort and distribute the clothes. Please contact Christy Birdsong at crobbins_73@yahoo.com or (202) 607-7350 to volunteer or with questions.

Quality Family Time: Imagination Bethesda, Downtown Bethesda (Woodmont Ave. between Bethesda Ave. and Elm St.), Saturday June 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children’s street festival celebrating the arts featuring live entertainment, hands-on creative activities for children 12 and under, face painters, roving performers and balloonists. See www.bethesda.org/bethesda/imagination-bethesda. Jazz and Family Fun Day, Phillips Collection (1600 21^st St. NW), Saturday June 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday June 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In partnership with the DC Jazz Festival, the sounds of live jazz fill the galleries while families can visit an instrument petting zoo, listen to a story teller, and create artwork to take home. See www.phillipscollection.org. Washington Folk Festival, Glen Echo Park (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md.), Saturday June 5 and Sunday June 6 from 12-7 p.m. The 30^th annual Washington Folk Festival showcases the diversity of traditional music featuring performances by musicians, storytellers, dancers and craftspeople who represent cultures from throughout the world and all live in the Washington metropolitan area. See http://fsgw.org for details.

Several Short Notes: Please return library books: Please return all library books to the Media Center no later than Friday June 4. If any books have been misplaced or lost, please contact Ms. Woodard as soon as possible. Thank you. Volunteers needed for t-shirt sales: We’re still looking for a volunteer to help with Brent t-shirt sales and inventory over the summer and the next school year. This is a great way to get involved with Brent and get to know all of the families! Responsibilities include organizing the sale of t-shirts and school merchandise during the summer meet-and-greets and next school year, and you can make it easier by recruiting a few other volunteers to sell shirts just one day a month during the school year. Please contact Lisa Perry at lperrys@mac.com if you can help. Play rehearsal: There will be no play rehearsal on Thursday June 3 so everyone can attend the opening night celebration for our museum exhibits.

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